Digital Sources: Sony XA-5400ES SACD/CD player, Oppo BDP-95 universal Blu-ray player.
Preamplification: Meridian HD621 HDMI audio processor & 861 Reference v6 digital surround controller, Bryston SP-3 surround processor.
Power Amplifiers: McIntosh MC303 (three-channel); Bel Canto Design REF1000 Mk.II, Anthem Statement M1 (both monoblocks).
Loudspeakers: Aerial Acoustics 7T, Bowers & Wilkins 800 Diamond.
Cables: Digital: Black Cat Veloce. Interconnect: van den Hul Flat 180 HDMI, AudioQuest Vodka HDMI & Cheetah/DBS balanced.…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the ADAM Classic Column MK3's frequency response in the farfield. For the nearfield responses I used an Earthworks QTC-40, with its small, ¼" capsule. I left the speaker's grille off for these measurements.
My estimate of the ADAM's voltage sensitivity was 88.5dB(B)/2.83V/m: slightly below the specified 90dB. The impedance remained below 6 ohms for much of the midrange and bass (fig.1), with a minimum magnitude of 3.35 ohms at 155Hz. The electrical phase angle was generally low,…
When it comes to getting audio from a PC via its USB port, the buzzword du jour is asynchronous. This cryptic term refers to which device has control over the timing of the audio data being streamed from the computer: the computer itself, or the device receiving the data. It might seem logical to have the computer control the timing, but this is not so. When digital audio data are converted to analog by a D/A converter, control over exactly when each dataword is converted is critical for the best quality of sound. Any uncertainty in that timing manifests itself as analog distortion, aka…
Time for something more challenging. A secret love of mine is the music of 1970s British band Free. Not only did Paul Rodgers have (and still has) one of the great white rock voices, the rhythm section of Andy Fraser on bass and Simon Kirke on drums demonstrated a maturity and a restraint that amplified the music's power by leaving space between the notes. I cued up the live recording of "Mr. Big" (ALAC file from CD: 20th Century Masters, A&M Millennium Edition). Simon Kirke kicked off that sparse drum pattern, and while there was not perhaps the weight to his kick drum routinely…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state, bus-powered, plug-and-play digital-to-analog converter with tethered input and output cables. Digital input: USB 1.1 operating in isochronous asynchronous mode with 24-bit word length and sample rates of 44.1, 48, 88.2, and 96kHz. Analog outputs: left & right RCA (unbalanced). Output impedance: 200 ohms. Output level: 2V RMS.
Dimensions: 2m cable length standard. Weight: almost nothing.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 3100064.
Price: $495 with 2m cable. Other lengths available: 3m, add $20; 5m, add $60; 7m, add $100.…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Lingo power supply, Linn Ekos tonearm, Linn Arkiv B phono cartridge.
Digital Sources: Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP & DX-5 universal players; Apple 2.7GHz i7 Mac mini laptop running OS10.7, iTunes 10, Pure Music 1.86; Shuttle PC with Lynx AES16 soundcard & dual-core AMD Athlon processor running Windows 7, Foobar 2000, Adobe Audition 3.0; Musical Fidelity V-DAC II, Benchmark DAC1, Logitech Transporter, Mark Levinson No.30.6 D/A converters; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 USB A/D converter.
Preamplification:…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Halide DAC HD with Stereophile's loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com and the January 2008 "As We See It"); for some tests, I also used my vintage Audio Precision System One Dual Domain.
I connected the Halide to one of the USB ports on my Intel MacBook; the Mac USB Prober utility reported the DAC HD as being the "Halide Design DAC HD" manufactured by "Halide Design," and listed the serial number as "(C) 2010 Wavelength Audio, ltd." The last refers to Gordon Rankin's Streamlength proprietary…
The California Audio Show returns to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Burlingame August 3–5. Produced by Constantine Soo's dagogo.com, and sponsored by Stereophile, The Absolute Sound, Wired.com, Audiophilevoice.com, AVshowrooms.com, and San Francisco Classical Voice (SFCV.org), Northern California's only show aimed at audiophile consumers promises 36 exhibit rooms stocked with equipment from at least 100 manufacturers.
This year, a host of Northern Californians have chosen to venture onto Highway 101, drive from nearby San Francisco International Airport, or shuttle from BART to attend the show…
With the release of their first Binaural+ high-resolution downloads, Chesky Records and HDtracks intend to take music lovers one step closer to the real musical event. Made possible by work that composer David Chesky, founder of Chesky Records and cofounder of HDtracks, has been doing at Princeton University with Dr. Edgar Choueiri, Chesky's Binaural+ downloads make possible the playback of binaural recordings on both headphones and a pair of loudspeakers.
The Binaural+ masters are captured in high-resolution (24-bit/192kHz) sound using a Binaural head or Kunstkopf nicknamed "Lars," who…
Cardas Audio, one of the longest-established boutique audio-cable and accessories innovators, has brought George Cardas' frequency-sweep system-enhancement tweak, previously available on LP for more than 25 years from Cardas Audio and on CD from Ayre Acoustics, into the world of smartphone applications with the "Clarifier" app, available from iTunes' App Store for 99 cents. The app is for the iPhone (and iPod Touch) only; we don't know if an Android version is planned.
With its price tag obviously benefiting from both economies of scale and the lack of physical-delivery costs, Cardas' 99-…